Phorbol ester pharmaceutical compositions and their use for treating inflammation

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method of inhibiting the protein kinase C-mediated biological response inflammation. The method comprises administering to a mammal a non-tumor promoting 12-deoxyphorbol ester. Phorbol esters suitable for use in the method include 12-deoxyphorbol 13-monoesters wherein the ester is a formate, acetate, propionate, butyrate, pentanoate, hexanote, benzoate or phenylacetate ester. The invention also relates to novel 12-deoxyphorbol 13-monoesters, wherein the ester can be a formate, propionate, butyrate or pentanoate ester, and to pharmaceutical compositions comprising same.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/681,679 filed on Apr.8, 1991, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of inhibiting protein kinase Cfunction and to compounds and compositions suitable for use in such amethod.

2. Background Information

In mouse skin, phorbol esters exert tumor promoting, inflammatory, andhyperplastic activity. These responses are thought to be mediated viathe major phorbol ester receptor, protein kinase C (Nishizuka, Nature,308: 693-698, 1984; Nishizuka, Science, 233: 305-312, 1986; Nishizuka,Nature, 334: 661-665, 1988; Blumberg et al, In: T. J. Slaga (ed.)Mechanisms of Tumor Promotion, Tumor Promotion and Carcinogenesis InVitro, vol. 3, pp. 143-184, Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1984).

Using [H³ ]PDBu, Blumberg and co-workers characterized specific,high-affinity phorbol ester binding sites in particulate preparationsfrom mouse skin and mouse epidermis. The measurements yielded curvedScatchard plots, consistent with receptor heterogeneity (Dunn et al,Cancer Res., 43: 4632-4637, 1983). These were the first resultssuggesting that the phorbol ester receptors, subsequently identified asPKC, might represent a family of isoforms differing instructure-activity relations. It is now known that protein kinase Cindeed consists of at least 9 isozymes (Blumberg, Cancer Res., 48: 1-8,1988; Nishizuka, Cancer 63: 1982-1903, 1989). The bindingcharacteristics of only the alpha, beta, and gamma isozymes have beeninvestigated in detail so far. These three isozymes appear quite similarfor recognizing the phorbol esters, although differences in interactionwith unsaturated fatty acids have been noted (Sekiguchi et al, Biochem.Biophys. Res. Commun., 145: 797-802, 1987; Akita et al, J. Biol. Chem.,265: 354-362, 1990).

Despite the lack of biochemical understanding, whole animal analysisargues strongly for heterogeneity in response to the phorbol esters. Adecade ago, Hecker and co-workers demonstrated that 12-deoxyphorbol13-phenylacetate, -isobutyrate, or -angelate were inflammatory buteither not promoting or weakly promoting (Hergenhahn et al, J. CancerRes. Clin. Oncol., 104: 31-39, 1982). Similar behavior was noted forphorbol esters with unsaturated side chains (Furstenberger et al, PlantaMedica, 22: 241-266, 1972). The groups of Slaga (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA, 77: 3659-3663, 1980; Slaga Environ. Health Perspect., 50: 3-14,1983) and Marks (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 78: 7722-7726, 1981) showedthat tumor promotion could be subdivided into distinct stages differingin structure-activity requirements; mezerein and 12-O-retinoylphorbol13-acetate, although only weakly promoting themselves, were effective ifpreceded by one or more applications of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate(PMA).

In all of the above cases, the compounds induce in cultured cellsessentially the complete spectrum of phorbol ester responses. This isnot so for the bryostatins, a structurally distinct class of proteinkinase C activators. The bryostatins induce only some of the responsesseen for the phorbol esters; when co-applied with the phorbol esters,the bryostatins block those responses which they themselves do notinduce (Blumberg, Cancer Res., 48: 1-8, 1988). In mouse keratinocytes,the bryostatins fail to induce markers of differentiation (Sako et al,Cancer Res., 47: 5445-5450, 1987). In mouse skin, the bryostatins areinactive as first stage promoters (Gschwendt et al, Carcinogenesis, 9:555-562, 1988), very weak as second stage promoters or as completepromoters (Hennings et al, Carcinogenesis, 8: 1343-1346, 1987), stronginhibitors of first stage promotion (Gschwendt et al, Carcinogenesis, 9:555-562, 1988), and modest inhibitors of complete promotion (Hennings etal, Carcinogenesis, 8: 1343-1346, 1987).

One other report of protein kinase C activators which inhibit tumorpromotion remains difficult to evaluate. Schmidt and Hecker (In: E.Hecker, N. E. Fusenig, W. Kunz, F. Marks and H. W. Thielmann (eds.)Cocarcinogenesis and Biological Effects of Tumor Promoters, pp. 57-63.New York: Raven Press, 1982) reported that co-application of PMA and a4- to 8-fold higher dose of phorbol 12,13-diacetate, -dibutyrate,-dipropionate, or -dibenzoate completely blocked promotion in NMRI mice.This was clearly not seen for phorbol 12,13-diacetate in SENCAR mice(Slaga et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 77: 3659-3663, 1980), andphorbol 12,13-dibutyrate and phorbol 12-13-dibenzoate are themselvestumor promoting (Scribner et al, Europ. J. Cancer, 8: 617-621, 1972;Baird et al, Cancer Res., 31: 1074-1079, 1971). In the same paper,Schmidt and Hecker also reported that a single co-treatment had noeffect on thymidine incorporation or hyperplasia in NMRI mouse skin andthat, after eight cotreatments, there was only a slightly less intensehyperplasia than after eight treatments with PMA alone.

Applicants have characterized the biological effects of 12-deoxyphorbol13-acetate (prostratin). Specifically, Applicants have examined theeffect of single or multiple pretreatments of mouse skin with prostratinon the subsequent response to PMA. The results indicate that prostratinpretreatment inhibits the response to PMA, with varying characteristicsfor different responses. Prostratin thus represents a novel class ofphysiological antagonist for protein kinase C.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is based on Applicants' discovery that certainphorbol-related diterpene esters lacking tumor promoting activitypossess antihyperplastic activity and anti-inflammatory activity.Accordingly, the invention relates to a method of using these esters toblock these and other such protein kinase C-mediated responses.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method of treatingdisorders involving the protein kinase C pathway.

It is a further object of the invention to provide novel phorbol-relatedditerpene esters suitable for use in the above-described method, and toprovide pharmaceutical compositions containing same.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be clearfrom the description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. The effect of prostratin pretreatment on the morphologicalchanges of back skin induced by PMA. Mice were treated by the followingprotocols: A) 100 μl acetone at 0 and 48 hrs and 10 μg PMA 15 min later.B) 1 mg prostratin at 0 and 48 hrs and 10 μg PMA 15 min later. C) 0.1 mgprostratin at 0 and 48 hrs and 10 μg PMA 15 min later. D) 0.1 mgprostratin at 0 hr, 1 mg prostratin at 48 hrs and 10 μg PMA 15 minlater. Mice were sacrificed 72 hrs after the last treatment. Allcompounds were applied in 100 μl acetone. (400 X).

FIG. 2. Dose dependent inhibition of PMA induced ornithine decarboxylase(ODC) activity by multiple prostratin pretreatments. Six per group weretreated with the indicated doses of prostratin 3 times at 48 hrintervals. Forty-eight hrs after the last pretreatment 10 μg PMA wereapplied to the back skin and the ODC activity of preparations derivedfrom two pooled skins was measured 6 hrs later. Each value representsthe average +/- S.E.M. Control animals were pretreated with solvent only(□).

FIG. 3. The recovery of ODC inducibility after prostratin pretreatment.Six mice per group were treated with 100 μg prostratin 3 times at 48 hrintervals. Fifteen min, 6, 12, 24 hrs, 2, 4, and 8 days after the lastpretreatment 10 μg PMA were applied to the back skin and the ODCactivity of preparations derived from two pooled skins was measured 6hrs later. The results were expressed as percentages of the controlvalues derived from mice pretreated with solvent only. Data representingthe same time points in three independent experiments were pooled. Eachvalue represents the average +/- S.E.M. All compounds were applied in100 μl acetone.

FIG. 4. Time dependence of the induction of ODC activity by PMA afterprostratin or solvent only pretreatment. Six mice per group were treatedwith 100 μg prostratin or solvent only (□) 3 times at 48 hr intervals.Forty eight hrs after the last pretreatment 10 μg PMA was applied to theback skin and the ODC activity of preparations derived from pooled skinswas measured 3,6, and 9 hrs later. Each value represents the average +/-S.E.M. All compounds were applied in 100 μl acetone.

FIG. 5. Dose dependent reduction of PMA induced edema by multipleprostratin pretreatments. Six mice per group were treated with theindicated doses of prostratin 3 times at 48 hrs intervals. 48 hrs afterthe last pretreatment 10 μg PMA or solvent (□) was applied to the backskin and 6 hrs later skin punches of 0.6 cm diameter were removed. Edemais expressed as the ratio of the water content/dry mass where the watercontent is the difference between the wet and dry weight. Each pointrepresents the average of 6 animals +/- S.E.M.

FIG. 6. Effect of prostratin on hyperplasia and inflammation induced byPMA. FIG. 6A: Prostratin-treated, FIG. 6B: control.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of using a class of phorbolrelated diterpenes to inhibit protein kinase C function and thereby toblock biological responses mediated by protein kinase C, includinghyperplasia, inflammation and edema. The invention further relates tonovel compounds within this class and to pharmaceutical compositionscomprising same.

Compounds suitable for use in the method to which the invention relatesare 12-deoxyphorbol 13-monoesters wherein the ester can be a formate,acetate, propionate, butyrate, pentanoate, hexanoate, benzoate orphenylacetate ester.

These compounds can be used to treat two classes of disorders involvingthe protein kinase C pathway. First, they can be used to treat thoseconditions mediated by protein kinase C that fall in the subclass ofresponses which they block. These would include: inflammatory dermatosessuch as psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, chloracne, atopic dermatitis,allergic contact dermatitis, lichen simplex chronicus, eczematousdermatitis, erythema multiforme, cutaneous lupus erythematosus, andpanniculitis. Likewise, they can be used as anti-inflammatory agents ingeneral for treatment of subacute and chronic inflammation, as well asin immune suppression following transplantation or autoimmune disease. Apartial list of such conditions includes vasculitis, chronic bronchitis,chronic glomerulonephritis, chronic gastritis, Crohn's disease, chronichepatitis and pancreatitis, prostatitis, thyroiditis, rheumatoidarthritis, and myositis.

Second, these compounds can be used as protein kinase C agonists forthose responses that they do not block, but where the tumor promotingand inflammatory activities of the usual phorbol esters representunacceptable toxicity. These responses include use as drugs fortreatment of leukemia or melanoma, acting through their ability toinduce differentiation.

The novel 12-deoxyphorbol derivatives to which the invention relates are12-deoxyphorbol 13-monoesters wherein the ester can be a formate,propionate, butyrate or pentanoate ester. Synthesis of the propionateester is set further in Example 5. Based on that disclosure, andknowledge of the art, an artisan could readily synthesis the othermembers of this group of novel derivatives.

Pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention comprise, as anactive ingredient, at least one of the known or novel phorbolderivatives described above, together with a pharmaceutically acceptablecarrier. The active ingredient is present in the composition in anamount sufficient to produce the desired effect (e.g. anti-inflammatory,anti-hyperplastic, etc). The composition of the invention can beformulated so as to be suitable for human or for veternary use.

Preferably, the pharmaceutical composition of the invention includes theactive ingredient in a quantity selected from 0.01 μg to 10 gm,advantageously, from about 10 μg to 10 mg, per dosage unit, depending onthe specific derivative and route of administration. Appropriateconcentrations and dosage unit sizes can be readily determined by oneskilled in the art.

Pharmaceutical carriers suitable for use in the composition to which theinvention relates include, but are not limited to, injectable or orallyor rectally administerable oils, lipid emulsions or aqueous suspensions,or in the case of orally or rectally administerable tablets or capsules,a pharmacologically inert excipient.

As indicated above, the pharmaceutical composition of the invention canbe present in dosage unit form. For example, the composition can takethe form of a tablet, capsule, inhalant, syrup, emulsion, gel, ointment,cream, lotion, transdermal patch, suppository, sterile injectable liquidas well as a liquid suspension or solution. The pharmaceuticalcomposition of the present invention can be prepared by conventionaltechniques.

The method of treatment to which this invention relates comprisesadministering to a subject in need of such treatment an amount of atleast one of the above-noted known or novel phorbol derivativessufficient to produce the desired effect. The derivatives can beadministered orally, nasally, topically, transdermally, parenterally oranally, as may be required to achieve the desired effect. One skilled inthe art can readily determine the appropriate protocol to be useddepending on the treatment required, (eg, anti-inflammatory,antihyperplastic, etc).

Specific aspects of the invention are described in further detail in thenon-limiting Examples that follow.

EXAMPLES

Animals used in the studies referenced in the specific Examples thatfollow were female Charles River CD-1 mice, 6-8 weeks of age, which wereobtained from Charles River Laboratories, Wilmington, Mass. The dorsalhair of each mouse was shaved 2 days before starting the treatments, andonly those mice showing no hair regrowth were used. All compounds weredissolved in acetone and applied in a volume of 100 μl. Prostratin, PMAand (-)-7-octylindolactam V (OILV) were purchased from LC Services(Woburn, Mass.).

Example 1

The effects of prostratin pretreatment on PMA-induced hyperplasia

For examination of hyperplasia, dorsal skin was removed and fixed in 10%formalin in 0.1M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.5. It was then sectionedand stained with hematoxylin-eosin by American Histolabs, Gaithersburg,Md. Under each set of conditions in each experiment, two animals weretreated, two portions of the treated skin were excised per animal, andthree sections were prepared from each portion of skin.

10 μg PMA induced strong hyperplasia on the backskin of CD-1 mice at48-72 hrs after treatment (FIG. IA). The hyperplasia could be inhibiteddramatically if the animals were pretreated with prostratin at anappropriate dose and an appropriate treatment schedule. The inhibitoryeffect of 1 mg prostratin applied at 0 and 48 hrs on the hyperplasiainduced by 10 μg PMA treatment 15 min after the second prostratinapplication is illustrated in FIG. 1B.

Within the severe limits imposed by the supply of prostratin, theinfluence of the treatment conditions on the inhibition of thePMA-induced hyperplasia was examined. Using 3 applications of prostratinat 48 hr intervals, followed by 10 μg PMA at 48 hrs after the lastprostratin application, 1 mg prostratin was effective but 0.1 mg orlower doses failed to inhibit. Six applications of 1 mg prostratin waslikewise effective, whereas a single dose of 1 mg prostratin, followedby 10 μg PMA at 15 min to 7 days after the prostratin application,failed to inhibit hyperplasia. Following 2 applications of prostratinseparated by 48 hr, hyperplasia was substantially inhibited forapplications of 10 μg PMA 15 min to 6 hr after the last prostratinapplication, partially restored at 48 h and largely recovered by 96 hr.When the interval between the two applications of 1 mg prostratin wasvaried, with challenge with 10 μg PMA 15 min after the last prostratinapplication, inhibition was most effective for intervals of 24 hrs to 8days.

Because prostratin was more potent for inhibiting ODC induction than forblocking hyperplasia (see below), combinations of a lower dose ofprostratin followed by a higher dose were also examined. Interestingly,although two applications of 0.1 mg prostratin at an interval of 48 hrfailed to inhibit hyperplasia to 10 μg PMA applied 15 min after thesecond application (FIG. 1C), the inhibition was complete for a firstdose of 0.1 mg prostratin, provided the second dose was 1 mg (FIG. 1D).

The inhibition of hyperplasia induced by PMA depended not only on thedose of prostratin but also on the dose of PMA evaluated. In controlmice, 100 μg of PMA caused substantial necrosis in addition tohyperplasia. The hyperplasia induced by 100 μg PMA was not blocked underthe usual protocol of two pretreatments with 1 mg prostratin, but thenecrosis was largely prevented.

Example 2

The effect of prostratin pretreatment on PMA-induced ODC activity

For analysis of ornithine decarboxylase activity, the epidermis ofindividual mice was separated from the dermis by brief heat treatment(O'Brien et al, Cancer Res., 35: 1662-1670, 1975). The epidermalpreparations of 2 mice were pooled and then homogenized for 20 sec at0°-4° C. in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.2, containing 0.1 mMpyridoxal phosphate and 0.1 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (O'Brienet al, Cancer Res., 35: 1662-1670, 1975) using a Polytron tissuehomogenizer. The supernatant fraction obtained after centrifugation at30,000×g for 2×20 min at 0° C. was used for determination of enzymaticactivity, quantitated by the release of CO₂ from L-¹⁴ C-ornithine(Amersham, Arlington Heights, Ill. and Dupont NEN, Boston, Mass.) asdescribed by Lichti and Gottesman (J. Cell. Physiology, 113: 433-439,1982). In animals treated with solvent only the CO₂ release was under0.1 nmole CO₂ /mg protein/hour.

It had been previously observed that a single treatment with prostratinitself induced ODC, but the maximal induction was only 25-30 % of thatinduced by 10 μg PMA and the peak of induction as a function of time wasbroader. Pretreatment with 100 μg prostratin inhibited the induction ofODC by 10 μg PMA applied 48 hrs after the prostratin. Inhibition by asingle prostratin application was greater than 60%; that by 2 to 6applications at 48 hr intervals was 90-98% (Table 1). The dose responsecurve for prostratin inhibition was determined using three treatments at48 hr intervals. The ID₅₀ was 10 μg (FIG. 2), markedly lower than theeffective dose for inhibition of hyperplasia. Conversely, the timecourse for recovery from inhibition after three treatments with 100 μgprostratin was slower than for inhibition of hyperplasia (FIG. 3).Substantial inhibition remained at 4 days and full recovery was onlyfound at 8 days.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        The effect of number of prostratin pretreatments                              on the ODC inducibility by PMA                                                4-6 mice per group were treated with 100 μg prostratin as many             times as indicated at 48 hr intervals. 48 hrs after the last pretreat-        ment 10 μg PMA was applied and the ODC activity of prepara-                tions derived from two pooled skins was measured 6 hrs later.                 Each value represents the average +/- range or S.E.M.                         All compounds were applied in 100 μl acetone.                                           ODC activity induced by 10 μg PMA 48                          Number of prostratin                                                                       hrs after the last prostratin                                    pretreatments                                                                              treatment (nmol CO.sub.2 /hr/mg protein)                         (100 μg)  Experiment 1  Experiment 2                                       ______________________________________                                        0            1.76 +/- 0.13 4.59 +/- 0.96                                      1            0.72 +/- 0.15 0.56 +/- 0.20                                      2            0.20 +/- 0.02 0.50 +/- 0.16                                      3            0.25 +/- 0.06 0.20 +/- 0.09                                      6            0.21 +/- 0.02 0.18 +/- 0.07                                      ______________________________________                                    

Since different agents can induce ODC with substantially different timecourses (Binder et al, Carcinogenesis, 10: 2351-2357, 1989; Verma et al,Cancer Res., 39: 1035-1040, 1979), whether there was any time shiftcaused by the prostratin pretreatment was checked. FIG. 4 shows that thepretreated animals 3, 6 and 9 hrs after PMA treatment showed nosignificant elevation of ODC activity.

To exclude the possibility that the inhibition by prostratin resultedfrom enhanced metabolism of PMA, the effect on another potent PKCactivator of a different structural class was examined. OILV, ateleocidin analog (Irie et al, Carcinogenesis, 8: 547-552, 1987), lacksthe ester residues of PMA which are cleaved during metabolic breakdown(Berry et al, Cancer Res., 38: 2301-2306, 1978). The ODC activityinduced by 10 μg (-)-7-octylindolactam (4.9±0.8 and 7.32±3.89 nmol CO₂/hr/mg protein in two independent experiments) was several-fold higherthan that induced by 10 μg PMA but prostratin pretreatment again wasinhibitory (1.11±0.17 and 0.62±0.04 nmol CO₂ /hr/mg protein,respectively).

Example 3

The effect of prostratin pretreatment on PMA-induced back skin edema

For measurement of edema, skins were removed after cervical dislocation,and 0.6 cm punches were cut out and quickly weighed. The skin puncheswere dried for 24 hr at 60° C. and then reweighed. Data were expressedas the ratio of the water content (wet minus dry weight)/dry weight ofeach skin punch.

Prostratin pretreatment reduced the level of edema induced by 10 μg PMAin a dose-dependent manner (FIG. 5). Because of limitations on theamount of prostratin, it was not possible to determine whether completeinhibition could be achieved if the dose were further increased beyond 1mg.

Example 4

Suppression of inflammatory activity by prostratin

CD-1 mice are treated with 100 μg prostratin applied in 100 μl acetoneto the shaved back skin. Starting 48 hrs later, the animals are treated5 times at 48 hr intervals with 1 mg prostratin and 15 min later with 2μg phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (FIG. 6A). Control animals aretreated in the same fashion, except that the treatments with prostratinin acetone are performed with acetone alone (FIG. 6B). The presence ofinfiltrating inflammatory cells can be clearly seen in FIG. 6B andmissing in FIG. 6A.

Example 5

Synthesis of novel 12-deoxyphorbol ester

12-deoxyphorbol 13-propionate is prepared as follows: 20 mg of12-deoxyphorbol 20-p-methoxytrityl ether (32.2 μmol) is dissolved in 2.5ml methylene chloride and 2.5 ml pyridine is added. The sample ischilled and a 6-fold excess of propionyl chloride (186 μmol) in 2.5 mlmethyl chloride is added with stirring. The reaction is allowed to warmto room temperature and proceed overnight. Five ml of water is thenadded and the reaction allowed to sit for an additional 24 hours. It isextracted twice with methylene chloride and the methylene chloridefractions are combined. The combined methylene chloride fractions areextracted with 1N hydrochloric acid until the aqueous solution isacidic. The methylene chloride fractions are then extracted with 5%potassium bicarbonate followed by water. They are dried down on therotary evaporator. Ten ml methanol containing 34 μl perchloric acid isadded and stirred for 45 min. One ml buffer is added. It is extractedtwice with methylene chloride and dried down. Finally it is purified bychromatography on HPLC using a C-18 reverse phase column and elutionwith 65% methanol in water.

All publications mentioned hereinabove are hereby incorporated byreference.

While the foregoing invention has been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity and understanding, it will be appreciated by oneskilled in the art from a reading of this disclosure that variouschanges in form and detail can be made without departing from the truescope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a12-deoxyphorbol 13-monoester, wherein the ester is a formate, acetate,propionate, butyrate, pentanoate, hexanoate, benzoate, or phenyl acetateester, in an amount sufficient to treat inflammation, together with apharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
 2. The pharmaceutical compositionof claim 1, wherein said composition is in dosage unit form.
 3. Apharmaceutical composition comprising a 12-deoxyphorbol 13-monoester,wherein the ester is a formate, acetate, propionate, butyrate,pentanoate, hexanoate, benzoate, or phenyl acetate ester, in an amountsufficient to treat inflammation, together with a pharmaceuticallyacceptable carrier, wherein said carrier is not a volatile organicsolvent.
 4. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a 12-deoxyphorbol13-monoester, wherein the ester is a formate, acetate, propionate,butyrate, pentanoate, hexanoate, benzoate, or phenyl acetate ester, inan amount sufficient to treat inflammation, together with apharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein said composition is indosage unit form.
 5. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a12-deoxyphorbol 13-monoester, wherein the ester is a formate, acetate,propionate, butyrate, pentanoate, hexanoate, benzoate, or phenyl acetateester, in an amount sufficient to treat inflammation, together with apharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein said composition is in theform of a lotion, gel, ointment, or cream.
 6. A method of treatinginflammation in a mammal in need thereof comprising administering tosaid mammal a 12-deoxyphorbol 13-monoester that is effective in thetreatment of inflammation in an effective amount to treat saidinflammation.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said ester isa formate, acetate, propionate, butyrate, pentanoate, hexanoate,benzoate, or phenyl acetate ester.
 8. The method of claim 6, whereinsaid ester is an acetate ester.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein saidester is a formate, propionate, butyrate, or pentanoate ester.
 10. Themethod of claim 6, wherein said ester is an acetate or phenyl acetateester.
 11. The method of claim 6, wherein said inflammation is dependenton a protein kinase C-mediated biological response.
 12. The method ofclaim 6, wherein said inflammation is psoriasis.
 13. The method of claim6, wherein said inflammation is selected from the group consisting ofseborrheic dermatitis, chloracne, atopic dermatitis, allergic contactdermatitis, lichen simplex chronicus, eczematous dermatitis, erythemamultiforme, cutaneous lupus erythematosus, panniculitis, subacuteinflammation, and chronic inflammation.